NHS sorry to woman after 'nurse with stubble' tried to take smear test

Britain's highest earning GP paid at least £700,000 a year

Tonnes of medical waste, including body parts, piles up in backlog

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NHS cancer treatment waiting times are on course to be the worst on record, latest official figures suggest.

In eight out of nine published cancer targets the health service in the six months to September treated the lowest or joint lowest percentage of patients since operation standards were introduced. NHS Digital figures published on Thursday reveal that with half of the year gone, 133,843 cancer patients have not been treated within the relevant standards.

The figure amounts to more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of the number of patients treated outside the standard in the previous 12 months, and is greater than the total in each of the first three years that all nine standards – introduced in 2012/13 – were in operation.

Dr Fran Woodard, from Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “These figures are further evidence of a worrying trend which demonstrates that the pressure on cancer services is truly beginning to bite. We must not forget that at the heart of these figures are thousands of cancer patients anxiously waiting for referral for diagnosis or to start treatment.”

“It is imperative the Government now seizes the once-in-a-generation opportunity to address the challenges facing the workforce in the NHS Long Term Plan. We cannot expect world-class cancer care for patients in the future without enough staff with the right skills to deliver it.”

Long waits

Last month saw “stark” increases in attendances, admissions and waiting times in accident and emergency departments in England, the performance statistics released by NHS England also show.

There were 2.06 million attendances at A&Es in October – 0.9 per cent more than October last year – with 89.1 per cent of patients admitted, transferred or discharged within the target of four hours. There were 542,435 emergency admissions last month – 5.7 per cent more than in the same period last year. Meanwhile 48,650 patients were forced to wait more than four hours from decision to admit to admission, with 212 waiting more than 12 hours.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said the figures should “ring alarm bells” for the NHS and the Government as winter approaches and “rocketing demand leaves A&E patients facing unacceptably long waits to be seen or admitted”.

Rob Harwood, chairman of the BMA’s consultants committee, said: “Last month, emergency admissions hit a record high while the number of patients waiting more than four hours to be seen was almost 10 per cent higher than last year. These statistics represent what happened in hospitals during a relatively mild autumn before the added pressure associated with much colder weather hits. This is further evidence of what the BMA has been saying for some time – we are no longer experiencing just a winter crisis in the NHS, it is now a truly year-round crisis.”

Shadow health and social care secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the figures “reveal an NHS under continued, intense pressure with dismal consequences for patients”.

He said: “There wasn’t a penny extra for hospitals this winter in the Budget, yet ministers are quickly ratcheting up uncosted promises from the NHS budget over the next five years. Patients waiting longer and longer in pain for treatment want action now and will expect the Secretary of State to outline a plan to reduce waiting lists and ensure the four-hour target is met.”

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) highlighted figures which show 3,156 patients were waiting more than 52 weeks for hospital treatment by September, an increase of 77.5 per cent from 1,778 in the same month last year.

Tom Sandford, director of RCN England, said: “Today’s figures show that more than 3,000 people have waited more than a year for hospital treatment, too often in pain and discomfort. No one should be waiting this long, yet the number of patients on the waiting list has grown 78 per cent in a year. Everywhere you look you see our healthcare system buckling under the strain.”

Closure

Last week, a leading cancer centre in Essex announced it may have to close as it cannot recruit enough specialist nurses. More patients are waiting over two months to start urgent cancer treatment than any time in the last three years.

“This is a further blow to patients and families enduring one of the most stressful times imaginable,” Mr Sandford said, putting the blame on staff shortages. Without urgent action we could see more vital services forced to close… As the 10-year plan for the NHS is drawn up, we are calling for £1 billion to fund nursing education to attract and support the nurses we need to keep patients safe,” he said.

Dr Adrian Boyle, from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said it was a “testament to the hard work of staff” that the four-hour performance was up slightly on last month in spite of a record number of emergency admissions.

He said: “The number of emergency admissions and trolley waits should make it clear that we can ill afford to lose any more beds as we have over previous winters. We are at a point where nearly a third of attendances require admission, and focus must be on how we treat these patients rather than attempting to re-direct minors. Provision of staffed beds and better co-ordination of the bed base must be the absolute priority this winter and must be a key part of the 10-year plan.”

A spokeswoman for NHS England said: “The NHS continues to look after an increasing number of people who need our care. Going into winter it’s important that local authorities and hospitals work together to deploy the targeted extra funding for social care to help people get home as soon as possible.”

NHS sorry to woman after 'nurse with stubble' tried to take smear test

Britain's highest earning GP paid at least £700,000 a year

Tonnes of medical waste, including body parts, piles up in backlog

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